ilrn student guide

Last Edited: 6/30/2015

iLrn Student Guide

Contents

Introduction 2

Registration and Key Resources 3

First Time Login 4

Updating your profile 8

Inside Your iLrn Course 9

Assignment Calendar 13

Review & Practice Activities 18

Voice-enabled Activities 19

How to find a partner/team to do voice recording activities 20

How to complete voice-enabled activities 22

Share it! 24

Self-Tests and Personalized Learning 25

Technical Support 26

System Requirements 27

iLrn Student Guide of 27

Introduction

Congratulations on working with a Cengage Learning book! iLrn is an easy-to-use platform that was developed specifically to

support your language learning. The system gives immediate feedback when you complete activities, provides you with a

personalized study plan via the Self Tests, and gives you access to a wealth of data about your performance, enabling you to

learn more effectively.

iLrn setup is quick and requires only that you have the Student Book Key you purchased bundled with your textbook or online.


Registration and Key Resources

Whether you’re logging in for the first time or returning to your course, you begin at the iLrn

homepage:

http:www.cengage.com/ilrn

To go to the login page, click the red Sign in button in the upper right-hand corner.

To see short videos that demonstrate key aspects and uses of iLrn, click the Training & Support tab in the middle of the tan

navigation bar.


First Time Login

The first time you log in to your iLrn course, follow these steps:

1 Click Sign in.

2 Click Create account.


3 Enter your user information and click Submit.

4 You are prompted to enter your 16-character Book Key. You will find your Book Key printed inside the

sleeve that came bundled with your book or you can purchase an Instant Access Book Key from

cengagebrain.com. Click Go.

NOTE: If you do not yet have a book key when registering for iLrn, skip to Step 5. You can purchase a

book key or access a 3-week trial after logging in.


5 Your book also requires an instructor’s Course Code. Get the course code from your instructor to gain

access to your course. If you already have it, enter it when prompted. Otherwise you can enter it the

next time you log in. NOTE: If you are accessing via a Blackboard Learn linked course you will not need

a Course Code.

6 To access your book after you have added it to your account, return to the iLrn homepage, click Login,

enter your username and password, and then click Log in. This will take you to the Student

Workstation.


7 Click on your book’s cover to access your iLrn course materials.


Updating your profile

When creating your iLrn: Heinle Learning Center account, the information you enter, such as your

name and email address, is saved in your profile.

Step Action

1 Login to the Student Workstation and click Profile in the upper right corner of your screen.

2 Update the information and click Save changes.

Make sure your email address is current in your profile, as IXL/Quia, Cengage Learning’s partner in iLrn

development, uses this email address to respond to technical support questions and provide

forgotten username/password information.


Inside Your iLrn Course

Once you have clicked on your book’s cover to enter iLrn, you will see the iLrn interface:

Function Looks like this…

Every page of iLrn

is designed to give

you quick access

to all of the

resources

available for your

course. The tabs

on the right side

each link to key

resources to

support your

language learning.

The Assignment

Calendar is where

you can access all

of your

assignments. You

can locate your

assignments by

due date (as to

the right) or

chapter (as

above).



The eBook is a

page-for-page

electronic

reproduction of

the printed book

that features

embedded audio,

video, as well as

note-taking and

highlighting

capabilities. You

can also complete

textbook activities

directly from the

eBook pages.

The Activities tab

allows you to

locate all activities

(both textbook

and Student

Activities

Manual).



The Self-Tests are

short quizzes that

provide an an

initial assessment

of what you know

and what you still

need to master.

Based on your

results, iLrn

generates a

personalized

study plan to

guide you to the

sections and

resources you

need most.

You can quickly

access all videos

for each chapter

of your book via

the Video Library.

For titles ©2015

and later, this tab

is called Media

Library, where

you can access all

audio tracks for

the chapter in

addition to video.



The Practice tab

provides access to

a variety of

additional

activities and

study tools, such

as flashcards,

grammar

tutorials, auto-

graded quizzes,

etc. All of these

resources are also

linked at the point

of use in the

eBook.


Assignment Calendar

Assignments can display by date or by chapter. Use the following procedure to access your

assignments by date.

Step Action

1 Log in to the Student Workstation and click on the book title or cover:

2 Click on the Assignment Calendar tab on the right-hand side.


3 Click View by date in the blue toolbar.

4 You view all Textbook and Student Activities Manual assignments and their due dates and times. The

icon of a blue book indicates a Textbook activity and the icon of a pink book indicates a Student

Activity Manual activity. Click on an activity to complete it.


5 You can also check your grades on completed assignments. Green dots to the left of the activity title

indicate that the assignment has been graded, either by the computer or by your instructor. Red dots

indicate that the activity has not yet been graded by your instructor.

6 To see assignments for previous or future weeks, select a date from the calendar for the date you

wish to view.


Use the following procedure to access your assignments by chapter.

Step Action

1 Click on the Assignment Calendar tab on the right-hand side.

2 Click View by chapter in the blue toolbar.


3 Select a chapter from the list to see all assignments for that chapter. A due date will appear under the

Due Date column for all assigned activities. If an assignment has been completed, the date will be

indicated. Note that you have the option to see all activities, not just the activities assigned.

4 Select an activity from the list to open and complete.


Review & Practice Activities

With enhanced feedback, students are given additional support. At the end of each chapter students will find additional auto-

graded grammar activities with specific explanations to their answers. This way, students are given direct support and guidance

while practicing.

Example:

The Review It! button appears with grammar and vocabulary activities and links to relevant resources in the eBook and Student

Activities Manual. Located next to the accent toolbar in an activity, you’ll see links to eBook pages covering relevant lessons,

flashcards for vocabulary terms, tutorials that review grammar lessons, and other iLrn resources. These links are all in one place

and they give you the practice you need to grasp the material.


Voice-enabled Activities

Voice-enabled activities can be completed alone, with a partner, or with a group. You can talk to your partner or team and

write instant messages to plan your responses together, then record a conversation that your instructor will grade. Please note

that voice-enabled activities do not work on mobile devices at this time.

Tips for setting up your computer:

Microphone — The latest browser versions and Adobe Flash work best with USB (Universal Serial Bus) connected

microphones. Internal microphones, WebCam microphones, and the older stereo-jack (male connection)

microphones can be problematic and may not provide the quality needed for effective comprehension and grading.

Adobe Flash — You should have the latest version of Adobe Flash installed. Also make sure your Flash settings are

configured on your web browser for the program to recognize the microphone being used for Voiceboard. To this

follow this steps:

o Open a voiceboard exercise and right-click on the Record button. Select Settings.

o At the bottom of the menu, click the second tab from the left (it looks like a monitor with an eye on it).

Make sure the Allow option and the Remember check box are selected.

o Click the fourth tab (the one with a microphone on it). Make sure the record volume is up all the way and

the correct microphone is selected from the drop-down list.

Lab environment— In a “Lab” environment, your IT department needs to make sure that the network port “1935” is

enabled for voice. If this port is disabled on the school’s network your voice recording will not function.


How to find a partner/team to do voice recording activities:

Step Action

1 Click on Voiceboard at the top of the Welcome page.


2 From the Voice activities dropdown list, select the activity you want to complete.

3 If you need a partner, click the Find a partner link at the top of the Partner Record and Chat box. This

will take you to the partner switchboard where you can invite someone online to partner with you.

4 If you are working with one partner, his or her name will appear at the top of the Partner Record and

Chat box.

5 If the assignment requires you to work in teams, you will either need to join an existing team, or invite

others to join you. To join an existing team, check the Partnership/Team column and find the name of

a person whose team you would like to join. Click his/her name and send him/her a private chat to

request and invitation.

6 To form your own team, find an available partner from the Partnership/Team column, click his/her

name and the Invite to partner link. To add more team members, click their names and the Invite to

team link. Note that if you have four teammates, you cannot invite more – teams are restricted to five

members.


How to complete voice-enabled activities:

Step Action

1 To send instant messages to your partner or team, type in the text box and press Send or press the

Enter key.

2 To talk to your partner or team before recording, press the Talk to your partner button. Make sure

that you and your partner have microphones and a headset or speakers, and that the volume is

turned on. Note: Your partner cannot speak to you or hear what you say until he or she presses Talk

to your partner as well. Your conversation will not be recorded unless you click the Record button.

3 Coordinate with your partner or team on what you’d like to say. When you’re ready to record the

conversation, press the Record your conversation button. The recording will start ONLY after all

partners or teammates have clicked the Record button. You will know it is recording because a

message in red appears saying “recording...” until someone in the group presses Stop recording.


4 Press Stop when you want to stop recording. You can still talk with your partner or team when the

recording stops.

5 To listen to your recording, press Play. You can pause the recording at any time by pressing Pause. If

you are not satisfied with your recording, you may record again. Each recording is saved and you can

choose which recording (from a drop-down list) you want to submit.

6 When you are satisfied with your recording, press Submit answers to submit your recording to your

instructor for grading. Note: Each partner must select a recording and click the Submit button. Anyone

who does not will not submit a recording for grading.

7 If you can’t find a partner or team, you can record answers on your own. Click Record to record your

voice, then stop the recording and submit it when you’re done. Check with your instructor to see if an

individual recording is acceptable, since these activities are designed to be done with a partner.


Share it!

The Share It! feature allows you to upload a file, image or video to the Share It! community for your class where your

classmates can comment and rate your file. You can make comments on your classmates’ files as well, including audio

comments.

Your instructor may assign Share It! activities. These will be prompts asking you to upload a file to complete the assignment.

When you submit the activity, it will go to the gradebook for your instructor to assign a grade. It will also publish directly the

Share It! tab.


Self-Tests and Personalized Learning

You may take an online self-test before or after working through a specific chapter to get an initial assessment of what you

know and what you still need to master. Your results are graded automatically and displayed according to learning outcomes. A

Personalized Study Plan, based on the automatically graded test, directs you to additional study aids available in iLrn: Heinle

Learning Center, including Student Activities Manual activities and pages in the eBook that focus your efforts and study time on

the areas where you need the most help.

Pre-Test (What Do I Know?) provides an evaluation of what you already know.

Personalized Study Plan (What Do I Need to Learn?) provides a focus for your work. Chapter sections and additional study

materials are chosen to cover concepts that you had problems with in the pre-test.

Post-Test (What Have I Learned?) provides an evaluation of what you have learned after working through the personalized

study plan.


Technical Support

Visit http://books.quia.com/support

View FAQs at http://books.quia.com/help/books/faq.html for immediate answers to common problems.

Send an e-mail to [email protected]

Call Toll-free 1-877-282-4400 (Ext 2), Monday-Friday, 7am-5pm Pacific Time

http://books.quia.com/support

mailto:[email protected]


System Requirements

You need one of the following operating systems for iLrn:

Microsoft®

o Windows 98

o NT, 2000

o ME

o Windows XP

o Windows VISTA

o Windows 7

o Windows 8

Macintosh OS X

You need one of the following browsers:

Internet Explorer 7.x or higher (Windows only)

Firefox version 3.x or higher

Safari 3.x or higher (Mac only)

Additional Requirements

A high-speed connection with throughput of 256 Kbps or more is recommended to use audio and video components.

Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 or higher

CPU: 233MHz

RAM: 128MB

Flash Player 10 or higher

You will need speakers or a headset to listen to audio and video components, and a microphone is necessary for

recording activities.

ilrn student guide

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